E 



.Jfc8 





Class E n 5 



PRESENTKI) ;iY 



IPU ^M ^ 



KEY TO THE PROBLEM 

OR 

Tale of a Sa.ble City 



' ^y BY 

H. T. JOHNSON. PhD. D.D. 

Editor "The Christian Recorder" 




Author of 



DIVINE LOGOS 

HOW TO GET ON 

JOHNSON'S GEMS 

TUSKEGEE TALKS 
THE PULPIT, PEW AND PARISH 
LUX GENTIS NIGRITIS 

MISS LYNCH UNVEILED 
RACE PROBLEM SERIES 

CHURCH PROBLEM SERIES 
THE COLOR LINE 

THE DOLLAR MONEY 



A. M. E. BOOK CONCERN 
-, , . ^ 631 PINK STREET, 
(.i-rf<-^C^^ PHILADKUPHIA, PA. 



7 



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ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 

Author 
(Person) 






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CONTENTS. 




Chapter. P. 


^ge. 


I. 


An Awakened Section . 


II 


II. 


A City of Sure Foundation 


18 


III. 


City and Race Jubilee Proposed. 


23 


IV. 


Multi-millionaire Appropriations. 


32 


V. 


A Woman In It 


37 


VI. 


A Magic Romance .... 


40 


VII. 


Fortune and Cupid Crowned . 


43 


VIII. 


Nearing the Goal .... 


49 


IX. 


The City's Golden Event . . 


56 


X. 


A Century's Offering . 


63 



PREFACE. 

Whoso hath not snuffed the aroma of 
southern wild flowers, or Hstened to the 
carolhng of our celebrated wood choris- 
ters, draws upon the imagination in vain 
for material out of which to weave an 
image which at once reflects the salient 
features of southern rural life. How- 
ever, let him not imagine for a moment 
who hath witnessed a mocking-bird con- 
cert, or been intoxicated by the poetic 
fragrance of bay blossoms or cape jas- 
mines, that he can don the toga of a south- 
ern bard. He needs to linger long 
enough in the land of Dixie to discern 
the four shiftings of nature's gorgeous 
panorama. He must tarry hereabouts 
long enough to snatch a fringe from the 
garment of meek-eyed spring; to see the 
opulent goddess of summer and taste of 
her nectarean sweetnesses from orchard, 
field and garden; to behold the aurelian 
form of fading autumn and listen to the 
rustle of her departing robes. Then, 
if time permits, with pen in hand and . 



Preface 

optics askant, let him sketch the icv 
footprints cvnd frigid countenance and 
cold embraces of the stern matron of win- 
ter. If this would-be knig-ht of the quill 
has a heart for verse-making, and nature 
up to this time has not moved it. perhaps 
the vernal sun will reach him and pierce 
it with his radiant daeeers 

To the spacious poetic heavens of the 
sunny South, whence the scenes and in- 
cidents of our narrative obtain their birth, 
we hasten the gentle reader. 



5 



INTRODUCTORY. 

Says Cowper in his poem, "The 
Task" : 

"Variety is the spice of life 
That gives it all its flavor." 

Variety might have been termed by the 
poet, not the "spice of life," but the life 
itself; for where is life manifest that it 
is not characterized by a variety that is 
simply interminable — whether it be the 
life of the firmament or of the sea, whether 
it be on the earth or under the earth. 
In life seen or life unseen variety is all 
and in all. Indeed we have the thought 
that it is not only by variety that life is 
possible, but that by it success in the field 
of its operation is also only possible. 
That variety greatly furthers and hastens 
success is perfectly demonstrable. Refer- 
ing to the variety of agencies alluded to 
by the prophet (Isa 62 : 10) to make pos- 
sible the return of Israel from Babylon, 
and not only possible, but expeditious, 

6 



Preface 

Rawlinson says : "The speaker returns 
to the period of the exile, and exhorts 
the people to pass forth from Babylon and 
speed on their way homeward. Some of 
them are to clear away obstacles, others 
are to bring materials and construct a 
highway along which the stream of emi- 
grants may march, while a third body re- 
moves such stones as might cause stumb- 
ling, and a fourth lifts up a standard to 
direct the march." 

And this same principle of the potency 
of variety is seen in the inspired economy 
of our holy religion. We read (Eph. 4: 
II,) "x\nd he gave some to be apostles; 
and some prophets ; and some evangelists ; 
and some pastors and teachers." The 
Catholic Douay has it: "And he gave 
some Apostles, and some Prophets, and 
some Evangelists, and other some pas- 
tors and doctors." 

Respecting this divine exhibition of a 
variety of forces, Henry says: "How- 
rich is the church that had at first such 
a variety of officers, and has still such a 
variety of gifts!" 



introduction 

It is to this principle of action on the 
part of God. both in nature and in revela- 
tion — to say nothing of its constant recur- 
rence in the daily providences of our 
lives — it is, we say, to this principle that 
we would invite the attention of all who 
are laboring for the disenthrallment of 
our millions, and so happily illustrated in 
the life of the author of this book. 

Variety of effort is the word. Variety 
of thought. Variety of word. Variety 
of work. Variety of method in general. 
Our author, we say, is a fine illustration 
of all this. Is a speech to be made? Only 
touch the button. Is a lecture to be de- 
livered? He is there. He can give an 
impromptu verse, on the first asking ; and 
preach a sermon full of thought. He 
writes editorials on the events of the day; 
and books on the more substantial duties 
of civic life. And now he essays to rise 
to the realm of fiction. \\'hat next? we 
are constrained to ask. He is the farthest 
from being a variety man, but who can 
say he is not a man of the rarest intellec- 
tual variety? Of course, we bave no idea 



5' 8 



Introduction 

of the success that may attend this last 
venture, l^eing- called away to the South- 
west before it was possible for us to read 
or even glance at the manuscript. But 
judging- from the man and his past ef- 
forts, judging especially from the variety 
of talents possessed we have every rea- 
son to expect success. Did not the variety 
of the forces engaged bring retreating- 
Israel safe to Palestine? Does not the 
variety of the gift's imparted still lead on 
the church to victory? So with the case 
in hand. Surely the speaker and the lec- 
turer, the poet and the author, the editor 
and the preacher, will not fail when he 
comes to write a work of fiction. None, 
we prophesy, will have to pay it the left- 
handed compliment paid to Hugh Miller's 
venture as a poet : "There is not a ridic- 
ulous or foolish line in it." 

With an earnest prayer that his forth- 
coming "Key to the Problem" will fit and 
so enable our ten millions to open the 
door of their worse than Mamertine 
prison and emerge into God's free sun- 

9 



Introduction 

light of justice and fair play, we sub- 
scribe ourselves, 

BENJ. TUCKER TANNER. 

2908 Diamond St, Philadelphia. 



JO 



KEY TO THE PROBLEM. 

or 

A SABLE CITY, 



CHAPTER L 



AN AWAKENED SECTION. 

Tlie city of Bayou, whence my narra- 
tive takes its birth, is located in one of 
the flowery commonweaUhs of Dixie in 
a Black Belt District. A half-century 
ago its inhabitants numbered a trifle more 
than fifty thousand souls, forty per 
cent, of whom were white, the rest a col- 
ored population of every hue from Afri- 
can ebony to Caucasian octoroon. The 
jihenomenal growth of this Afro-Ameri- 
can town is seen bv a o-lance at the latest 
census findings, which place its whites at 
seven hundred and fifty thousand and the 
Afro-American variety at a quarter mil- 
lion more than the whites. Nor are the 



11 



Key To The Problem 

industrial and sociological changes of 
this experimental community less marvel- 
ous than their stride in population, for 
growth along these lines had its tremend- 
ous mainspring in the march of idea> 
and irresistable conquests of truth. In 
the light of its present greatness, the story' 
of the dreams and drawbacks of the ju- 
venile town of a half century ago is 
of romantic tinge and will be read only 
with incredulous eyes. If the picture re- 
called should awaken the reader's doubts 
touching history or humanity, the penalty 
is but transient and incidental. Suppose 
dark scenes are disclosed, each sombre 
cloud \vili be seen to bear a silver fringe 
and expel some death charged element. 
V\'here traile 1 caste monsters in the slime 
of unreasoning hate will be traced the 
holy forms of vestal spirits pioneering to 
higher planes. The bloody hoofs which 
mark the tread of outlawry will prove but 
providential outlines to the reign of law 
and justice. In the wake of war and its 
hydra horrors, the gentle doves of peace 
will appear in flocks bearing twigs of 



12 



A Sable Cily 

thrift and amity. Instead of thorns of 
discrimination, fir trees of equity will 
flourish in splendor. The solitary places 
made fearful by political and social curses 
after fiery regencation will be seen 
taking on new life and crowned with the 
verdant grandeur of unfading greatness. 

He who doubts the history and 
prophecy sketched in these pages is no 
firm believer in Providence and chal- 
lenges the conquest and sovereignty of 
eternal right. 

A new era dawns upon the ill-favored 
population of the South-land. The bap- 
tism of blood with which they had been 
deluged for centuries, first in the form of 
slavery, then followed by the fiery perse- 
cutions associated with their aspirations 
to the rights of freedmen, had so regen- 
erated the erstwhile inferior race that 
they no longer looked or acted like their 
former selves, save in a most shadowy 
way. In evidence that the transforma- 
tion was not merely superficial, the very 
soil seemed permeated by it and the at- 
mosphere felt lighter, and the fields and 

13 



Key To The Problem 

farms wore an Eclenic aspect of beauty 
and loveliness on every side. From or- 
chard, farm and field, the golden fruit 
teemed in unstinted abundance. The fleecy 
staple that a few generations gone by 
swayed the sceptre of sovereignty became 
now crowded from its royal foothold by 
conditions less conducive to its reign. The 
unfavorable conditions which had so long 
fettered the powers and crippled the as- 
pirations of the long down-trodden peo- 
ple had so yielded to the touch of pro- 
gress that not a vestige of their unsight- 
ly track was to be seen. Large wastes 
of rural territories, deserted by former 
generations, afforded prosperous seats 
for thrifty multitudes who had the wis- 
dom and energy to desert congested city 
centers and take their chances with un- 
fettered nature iri quest of health and for- 
tune. As if in sympathy with their wise 
and nobler aspirations, nature responded 
freely to the touch of her ever-faithful 
but long dwarfed subjects, and from 
fields and flocks and farm, the bams, 
graneries and stock-yards teemed in 



14 



A Sable City 

plenty. No longer dependent upon op- 
pressive landlords, supply merchants and 
lienholders, the people were masters of 
their own soil, from which enough was 
raised not only to maintain their families 
but a large surplus for the market be- 
sides. In springtime the sceneries along 
railways, pikes and roadsides were such 
as to arouse interest and emotion in the 
dullest observer. From the Potomac to 
the Rio Grande thrift and intelligence 
roamed hand in hand, while waking 
nature smiled and wove her verdant man- 
tle for every vale and hill top. A few 
months later and the fields in Virginia 
waved broad banners of tobacco leaves, 
answering to the golden corn and rice of 
the Carolinas, the fruits of Florida, the 
cotton of Georgia, the cane of Louisiana 
^nd the fleecy fields of the Lone Star 
State. 

Diversity, fertility and prosperity 
marked rural conditions everywhere. 
The historic black belts, unchanged in 
contents and complexion, had so enlarged 
in scope and magnitude that they erri' 



15 



Key To The Problem 

braced the major portion of Southern 
population as their inhabitants. These 
people, long ago individualized for their 
ignorance and backwardness, had taken 
on the higher life, peculiar to a growing 
people. The monotonous and depressing 
sight of semi-civilized life no longer ex- 
isted. Fenceless fields, wierd-looking 
log shanties, lank and unsightly road- 
rigs and other exponents of a backward 
civilization, were rare exceptions, scarce- 
ly to be met with in a day's journey. This 
juvenile race, the youngest offspring of 
nature, had discovered the golden secret 
from their mothers' lips that nothing is 
wasted and with great diligence they set 
about applying this truth. The fortunes 
squandered by their forefathers on ac- 
count of stupidity or impecuniosity, the 
rank and file of them rescued and re- 
deemed with amazing thrift and wisdom. 
Race pride and mutual confidence, so sad- 
ly lacking in their ancestors, were no 
longer drawbacks to their progress. Not 
only was enterprise displayed in the form 
of shopkeeping, shoemaking, blacksmith- 

16 



A Sable City 

ing, undertaking-, whitewashing and 
what-not, as among the older generations, 
tb.e new and more vigorons descendants 
enlarged their thoughts awd activities 
along higher lines. From tenacious soil 
they utilized the ordinary clay, trampled 
upon by their progenitors and devoured 
by a type of "Crackers." to compromise 
indolence and appease their appetite, this 
new people built factories and manufac- 
tured bricks and pottery for the market. 
At convenient intervals of location were 
to be found factories for the crushing of 
rocks, the grinding of grain, the canning 
of fruits and vegetables, or mills for the 
sawing of lumber, the grinding of sugar 
cane and millet, the weaving of cloth, and 
the manufacturing of countless articles of 
food and dress for personal and domestic 
service. 



Or Key To The Problem 



CHAPTER II. 

A CITY OF SURE FOUNDATION. 

In evidence of the intellectual and 
moral transformation which took place 
in this formerly iinder-race, little if any 
trace of the distrust of each other which 
for centuries stunted their progress was 
anywhere to be discovered. Instead of 
each one relying upon his individual 
strength and judgment for success in 
business ventures, just the opposite was 
true. The larger towns of the orighial 
black belt were dotted for blocks with 
stores, market houses and business places. 
In front of large stores of general mer- 
chandise and groceries or hardware or 
dry goods were signs such as "Jo^'^^s and 
Brown," "Adams and Sons," "Anderson, 
Smith and Co." 

The city of Mound Bayou had the 
lead of the other towns of the more 
noted class and its superior stand- 

18 



A Sable City 

ing- was due to this fact as well as to 
the fact that its early settlers were col- 
ored men and women of the best char- 
acter and of superior intelligence and as- 
piration. The majority of them had re- 
ceived their schooling at Wilberforce, 
Tuskegee, Lincoln and Hampton, while 
others studied at Northern schools, or 
could exhibit certificates of training in the 
school of good common sense and self- 
acquired ability. The colony was the 
outcome of the bitter oppression from 
which the race suffered throughout the 
Southland during the dawn of the twen- 
tieth century. The persecutions, wide- 
spread and intollerable, which drove the 
less thoughtful of the race to desert their 
homes, some going North and West, 
others falling a prey to sharks of the em- 
migration theory and taking ship for 
Liberia, brought the conservative and 
race-loving leaders together, who, after 
due deliberation, concluded to remain in 
the South and simply shift their base of 
operation. They agreed to purchase an 
immense area of land some distance from 



19 



Key To The Problem 

the white man's irritating and hostile 
presence and endeavor to build up a 
model community for themselves. A 
charter from the legislature was granted 
the promoters of the unusual venture and 
in less than a half century the thriving, 
towering Mound Bayon city was the 
stupendous fruitage. 

From the fifty model families who 
first settled and laid the foundation 
of the village, the population had ex- 
panded to fifty thousand. They had laid 
the foundation of their safety and pros- 
perity upon the four corner-stones of 
righteousness, temperance, economy and 
race upbuilding. Admitting these basal 
elements of prosperity, it is not difficult 
to account for the prodig-ious wealth and 
success of the experimental city. Its walls 
were towering and so fortified against 
that foe which usually makes captors of 
the powerful and great that their founda- 
tions could not be undermined nor their 
battlements scaled by the arch invader, 
King Alcohol. No liquor traffic was al- 
lowed within the city and arrests for 

20 



i 



A Sable City 

drunkenness were unusual occurrences, 
even during the Christmas season. The 
police who did duty only throughout the 
night did service more from obedience to 
orders than from the fear that the public 
welfare was endangered in any wise. 
Banks, jewelry stores and business 
houses needed no watchmen since burg- 
lars and thieves shunned the city or found 
its approaching roadways and posted 
laws of entrance or residence both for- 
bidding and rigidly impassable. Only a 
small pro rata of whites were allowed to 
reside in the town and then only on con- 
dition that they take out license to restrict 
their business within the limit of a cer- 
tain margin of prosperity in a stated 
time. This particular restriction was 
varied, however, when the white man 
elected to unite in business corporations 
with colored men, and in that event that 
he be restrained from exercising a con- 
trolling share of the stock. This iron-clad 
rule was not established and enforced be- 
cause of prejudice against the whites, but 
as a safeguard against the defeat of the 

21 



Or Key To The Problem 

scheme to build an independent, ideal 
Negro community, illustrative of the 
race's heart and brain in their best pro- 
ductiveness, unhampered or unaided by 
the white man's genius except in an inci- 
dental wav. 



22 



I 



A Sable City 



CHAPTER III. 

CITY AND RACE JUBILEE PROPOSED. 

The first century of the race's freedom 
was near its close and it was decided to 
celebrate the event in connection with the 
golden jubilee of the magic Negro city. 
To give eclat to the double anniversary, 
the black republics of Liberia, San 
Domingo and Hayti made liberal pro- 
vision for representation of the people 
and government, feeling especial interest 
in the event because of their relation to the 
history and people involved. Nor were 
the whites to be accused of indifference 
or opposition to the great event, for while 
it meant the glory of the thirty millions 
of sable-hued Americans, it involved the 
credit of the nation that gave them citi- 
zenship and made it possible for them to 
demonstrate their powers of manhood 
and race nobility. What the state failed 
to furnish in the way of liberal appropria- 

23 



Key To The Problem 

tion on miserly and partisan grounds, was 
more than matched by the liberal outlay 
of Congress for the gigantic display of 
Negro genius and possibilities. The thirty 
millions voted by Congress for the Afro- 
American Centennial was fought by 
Southern Congressmen on the ground 
that the appropriation meant their en- 
dorsement of class legislation, which was 
contrary to the letter and spirit of the 
Constitution as they construed it. While 
they were in favor of the progress made 
by the blacks since their emancipation 
and heartily endorsed the proposed ex- 
hibition which was intended to show their 
development along industrial, mechanical, 
agricultural, intellectual and business 
lines, unless they warped the plain statu- 
tory enactments from their recognized 
applications there was no way by which 
they could favor the measure. The more 
radical among the Southern statesmen, 
true to the instinct of the former party 
and generation, opposed the appropria- 
tion with much vehemence and all the in- 
fluence and adroitness they could muster, 



24 



A Sable City 

but the measure won over their head with 
qn overwhehiiing majority vote. 

Those who championed the meas- 
ure on the floor of Cong^ress used 
the invincible argument that as a 
part of the national body politic 
the Afro-American contingent had as 
strong a claim upon the contents of the 
nation's treasury as any of the numerous 
race-varieties whose blood coursed 
through the nation's veins and helped to 
constitute its life. No more was asked 
for in the appropriation invoked for the 
colored citizens than was even more lib- 
erally granted to Irish and German- 
Americans in the recent exposition-s 
which marked epochs in their respective 
histories. They insisted with telling ef- 
fect that the marvelous material progress 
of the countrv as a whole was due to the 
black citizen's worth as laborers and that 
this truth applied with unqualified force 
to the South. Subtract from the nation's 
wealth credit the revenue yielded from 
rice, cotton, cane and tobacco culture in 
the South and the shrinkage would be 

25 



Or Key To The Problem 

fearful. Such a deduction would so 
lower the prestige of the nation that its 
standing as a world power would be hope- 
lessly impa'ired. Out of sheer equity and 
consistency the nation owed it to itself to 
recognize in an appreciable way the peo- 
ple who so largely constitute the source 
and mainstay of the stupendous material 
showing the country was able to make be- 
fore the world. It was also shown by 
the champions of the appropriation bill 
that the enormous contributions of the 
darker races who composed the nation's 
new dependencies had enriched the gov- 
ernment more than a billion dollars in 
two decades and that it was befitting that 
the nation indicate its gratitude by the 
moderate allowance asked for in the ap- 
propriation proposed. As a fitting cli- 
max, the leading speaker in support of 

the measure referred to the patriotism 
and valor of the colored man in every 
crisis of the country's life, citing Attucks, 
who fell a martyr in the fight for Ameri- 
can independence ; Salem, at Bunker Hill ; 
Carney, at Wagner ; Young and others at 
El Caney and Santiago de Cuba. 



26 



A Sable City 

Southern Congressmen of the rabid, 
fire-eating Tillman type had passed away, 
but the succeeding crop supplied in ad- 
herence to the traditions of the elders 
what they lacked in bluff and bluster of 
the blood and thunder variety. One of 
the belligerent class of Southern states- 
men mentioned courteously asked the 
privilege of interrogating the speaker, 
who was in the midst of a most interest- 
ing and eloquent closing period. The 
speaker indicated a desire not to be in- 
terrupted at that juncture, but finally 
yielded at the insistence of the inter- 
ruptor. 

"Does the gentleman on the floor mean 
to give the impression that he is a believer 
in social equality betv-;een the whites and 
blacks?" The question did not in the least 
d.'sconcert the speaker. His prompt and 
silencing rejoinder was : 

"When the warrant of time or the in- 
terest of the discussion will justify it I 
will be pleased to reply to the gentleman 
from Mississippi and give him an ade- 
quate reason for the faith maintained by 



27 



Key To The Problem 

the speaker on this or any other subject 
involving social rights and privileges." 

Amid the deafening- applause of his par- 
tisan friends and the cheers of the more 
liberal representatives of the counter 
party t]]e champion advocate referred to 
'concluded his speech to the chagrin and 
dismay of the minority element who de- 
signed to weaken its force. The much- 
boasted chivalry of the Southern gentry 
wilted beyond recognition beneath the 
glowing reference made by the speaker to 
the heroic conduct of the ex-slaves to the 
white population when the latter was ab- 
solutely at their mercy and at a time 
when the oppressor was striving with 
main and might to more tightly bind the 
gyves and shackles upon tliem. The 
same fortitude that enabled these people 
to endure the horrors of bondage for cen- 
turies, to pass through the fires of perse- 
cution and the hell of outlawry and wide- 
spread race butcheries, had fortified them 
with a forbearance and forgiveness well- 
nigh superhuman in scope and character. 
Time had demonstrated the wisdom of 



28 



A Sable City 

their course and the triumph of their 
cause. Their descendants have lived to 
see cities reared and temples of worship 
and learning tower where once the hydras 
of slavery and race hate and appalling 
ignorance trailed their foul and slimy 
forms. They had entered the wilderness 
and like the nobler members of the Cau- 
casian group had transformed it into a 
paradise of homes and flourishing centers. 
They had risen from chatteldom to man- 
hood and could watch the superior for- 
tuned race in the most admirable speci- 
men of heart and brain productions. 
Their poets can sing with no less en- 
chanting sweetness than the bards of 
Greece or England, while their artists can 
wield the brush and chisel with an ease 
that rivals an Orpheus or Angello. In 
the educational realm members of this 
once subject race now rank as masters, 
while the foremost one of this class will 
jut out in towering prominence above all 
others of his day and race and country. 
When Harvard and Yale and Johns Hop- 
kins will have been obscured in forgetful- 

29 



Or Key To The Problem 

ness Tuskegee and Wilberforce, coupled 
with Payne and Washington, their sable 
founders, will have just shed the ivy 
leaves of their ever verdant grandeur. 
While the world looks upon the efforts, 
achievements and renown of this plodding 
indefatigable people with gratification and 
admiration , it is a spectacle beggering 
description that a paltry few who stand 
astride the roadway of their pilgrimage 
in stubborn attitude, hug;ging the delusive 
hope of thereby arresting the chariot of 
their progress or thwarting it from its 
track of God-appointed destiny. In grant- 
ing the thirty million toward their centen- 
nial jubilee Congress proves itself equal 
to a high privilege no less binding than 
its duty to a class in whose hands the na- 
tions life and honor are held as most 
sacred jewels. 

The committee to whom the matter 
was referred reported favorably upon it 
and Congress approved the same by an 
overwhelming two-thirds vote. With 
this added thirty million appropriation 
from the government the Centennial Col- 



30 



A Sable City 

ored Jubilee Commission was amply for- 
tified to make success of the 
bration event it had in hand. 



tified to make success of the gigantic cele- 



3J 



Key To The Problem 



CHAPTER IV. 

MULTI-MILLIONAIRE APPROPRIATIONS 

The colored capitalists of the Mound 
City had formulated plans for the celebra- 
tion of the first golden anniversary of 
their city's life in connection with the 
looth year of the race's emancipation. 
The program arranged for the occasion 
was arrang-ed on a most elaborate scale. 
Not only were invitations extended to the 
noted men and women of the race, but it 
took in every known friend of the race in 
all the sections and a few distinguished 
advocates and champions of the Negro's 
cause from abroad. For five years the 
scheme of this surpassing event was un- 
der contemplation and outsiders no less 
than the local population talked and 
dreamed of its unqualified success. The 
popular subscription to the project 
amounted to ten million five hundred 
thousand dollars, while the wealthy capi- 



32 



A Sable City 

talists pledged to donate a sum six times 
as large as the sum paid in by the people. 
Congress, through the National Liberty 
Party, which grew out of the old Repub- 
lican party, had appropriated thirty mil- 
lions to the same project. The sum for 
the exposition by this figure now reached 
the adequate and flattering amount of 
more than one hunderd million dollars. 
It was thought that one million dollars 
for each year of the race's history since 
its emancipation would not be too great 
an investment in its jubilee centenary, 
and the inhabitants of the magic city 
cheerfully contributed its quota toward 
the magnificent event. No one seemed 
averse to the enterprise, for its successful 
consummation meant fame to the inves- 
tors and millions to the city coffers. The 
expenditure of this money was placed in 
the hands of an executive committee fully 
competent to handle it in such a manner 
as to give general satisfaction and pro- 
duce the best results. A number of sub- 
committees were placed in charge of var- 
ious interests, such as agricultural, me- 



33 



Key To The Problem 

chanical, domestic, artistic, scientific, ani- 
mal and poultry exhibits, showing the 
progress of the race during the first cen- 
tury of its freedom. The most inviting 
and picturesque land site was selected for 
the exposition grounds and buildings and 
was in easy reach of the city, both by 
steam and electric railways, the latter 
leading to the main entrance within a 
stone's throw of the Administration 
Building. Acres of humble two-room 
cottao-es that cumbered the citv's subur- 
ban grounds gave place to the fair 
grounds and its mammoth structures, 
their owners having been tendered lib- 
eral compensation for a two-year lease of 
the same and quarters for their occupants 
being provided elsewhere. The people 
that temporarily occupied the outlying 
suburban territory were quite unlike their 
city neighbors both in history and aim 
and temperament. They were refugees 
from lawless sections where the atmos- 
phere of race hate was unbearable. The 
community in which they lived formerly 
became dominated by a class of whites 



34 






A Sable City 

who persecuted the blacks less bitterly 
than their ancestors, but who, while the_, 
no longer mobbed nor burnt them, still 
controlled the courts and made it impos- 
sible for them to enjoy their civil rights 
or dwell peaceably or secured in their 
homes. A sudden outbreak of this deadly 
spirit drove thousands to abandon their 
homes and the majority sought the more 
congenial confines of the thriving and his- 
toric Negro town. In their sudden ex- 
odus they had to sacrifice all their pos- 
sessions except what ready money and 
portable articleql they owmed. Though 
distressed in circumstances these unfor- 
tunate refugees were received by their 
more fortiniate race neighbors and given 
a chance to try their fortune among those 
who knew what it was to feel the shafts 
of race persecution. For fifty years the 
iron had entered into the souls of their 
fathers and drove them to pitch their tents 
into the wilderness in search of a Canaan 
whose soil would yield corn and wheat in 
plenty and whose streams would flow with 
milk and wine. True to the high hopes 

35 



Key To The Problem 

and fondest dreams of these earlier race 
pioneers the fields were crowned with 
plenty and the years with goodness as the 
inhabitants more and more relied upon 
their brain and muscles and adhered to 
the God of their fathers. With temper- 
ance, co-operation, righteousness and 
education as main pillars in the structure 
of their unique city, it was but reasonable 
to surmise the success of their model com- 
munity. While the well pastored and 
flourishing churches and splendid insti- 
tutions of higher and lower grades re- 
flected the intellectual and moral life of 
the populace, their homes, business place?, 
clean streets, well-ordered parks, fire, 
police and water systems were living illus- 
trations of the genius and fitness of 
this virgin race for self-government and 
the ability to work out their own salva- 
tion when left to themselves. 



36 



A Sable City 



CHAPTER V. 

A WOMAN IN IT. 

The mammoth Exhibition and Jnbilee 
was the theme of every tongue but that 
of Eunice Montgomery and Douglass 
Hayden Lewis. The tropical sun never 
tinged and bronzed a lovlier human 
beauty than the former, the only daugh- 
ter of the oldest and wealthiest settler of 
the half-century-old town. The wealth 
and beauty of the fortune-crowned maid- 
en found chief expression in her cultured 
mind and royal spirit. Passing through 
the best schools of her native town and 
with church credentials in testimony of 
her Christian character 'she was warmly 
welcomed by the president and faculty of 
New England's celebrated school for 
girls, and by her brilliancy and winsome-, 
ness she was not long in securing a lead- 
ing place among its student ranks. At 
the social functions of the school she was 



37 



Key To The Problem 

a drawing card and central figure as much 
for her brilliancy and bon mot qualities 
as for her prepossessing beauty. Though 
exposed to the seductive influences per- 
culiar to institutions which exalt erudi- 
tion and mental finesse above the spiritual 
virtues, Eunice Montgomery placed no 
less stress upon her Christian honor than 
upon her scholastic standing. With a 
splendid class record supplemented by the 
benediction of an ever approving relig- 
ious conscience, the five years' enlistment 
soon sped among the things of the past 
and the successful and beloved Wellesley 
College girl of color became numberd 
with its extensive and ever-growing 
alumnae. 

The five summers of Eunice's college 
life fled by as swift as the flight of fairies 
and as lightly as their dreams. Her va- 
cation months were pleasantly whiled 
away in Boston at the home of a relative 
whose daughter was a close companion 
and college chum. Not until the vacation 
season of her junior year did she yield to 
the attractions of social life in the Hub, 



38 



A Sable City 

for prior to this the evenings were spent 
usually in literary recreation at home 
when not exploring the beautifully illumi- 
nated and wonderful labyrinthian sub- 
ways, and suburban wayside by fascinat- 
ing trolley rides. The days were usually 
spent in visits to such historic places as 
Faneuil Hall, Old South Church and 
Harvard College, or such romantic points 
as the Willows, Nantasket-by-the-Sea, 
Melville Garden and the like. Frequent- 
ly during the earlier morning hours she 
could be found in some corridor of the 
far-famed public library poring over 
some rare piece of literary treasure or 
lost in the contemplation of some creation 
of the masters in painting or sculpture or 
statuary. It was during oue of these 
quiet diversions that an incident occurred 
which gave rise to the romance of the 
present chapter and formed the major 
link in the chain of events which caused 
the mighty centennial and city event of 
her Southern home to pale into minor in- 
terest by its side. 



39 



Key To The Problem 



CHAPTER VI. 

A MAGIC ROMANCE. 

The crowning event of Douglass Hay- 
den Lewis was soon to take place and the 
princely private car of the railroad mag- 
nate millionaire, , was at 

his disposal. The son of the railroad 
king and Douglass were fast college 
friends and the bond between them be- 
came sacredly confirmed, despite the 
fruitless effort of the latter to save his 
life in a runaway accident. Returning 
from a polo game one afternoon as the 
chums were nearing the college grounds, 
a hug-e red-colored automobile suddenly 
dashed around the corner and its furious 
speed and puffing noise so frightened the 

horse of young that he reared 

and slipped and fell upon the rider 
causing almost instant death. The steed 
of Douglass was more controllable. The 
athletic, agile rider grasped the reins as 

40 



A Sable City 

the horse of his chum rose upward, but 
was scarcely able to break the force of the 
fall. Seeing the tragic result of their 
reckless driving the occupants of the 
flaming machine steered to the bleeding 
victim and assisted Douglass in lifting 
his limp and quivering form to a seat of 
comfort. The sinking victim was hur- 
riedly conveyed to the college hospital 
and the parents notified by wireless mes- 
sage of the sad occurrence. They reached 
the bedside of their only boy in time to 
see him breathe his last. Despite the lux- 
ury and comforts of the home of the 
wealthy pair at Brookline, the death 
angel's rustling wings and the vacant 
chair left an ever-aching void that wealth 
and fortune could never fill. As the sea- 
sons returned with periodical reminders 
of the fatal happening, the bereaved pair 
would decorate the tomb of their sleeping 
scion and take ship or private car to les- 
sen their grief through travel. The only 
worthy wearer of the dead collegian's 
mantle in the eyes of the parents was 
Douglass Hayden Lewis. In honor of 



41 



Key To The Problem 

the departed the bereaved parents consid- 
ered no attention to the surviving chum 
too costly and a's the magnificent private 
coach was not in use its princely service 
was tendered the favored candidate for 
matrimonial honors in the distant South. 



42 



A Sable City 



CHAPTER VII. 

FORTUNE AND CUPID CROWNED. 

Douglass Lewis had felt the cheery 
touch of golden days oft and again in his 
youth and early manhood, but the morn- 
ing of June 30th surpassed the best 
record of all his former joyous days. It 
wa's not his wedding day, but the prelim- 
inary date introductory to the glad event. 
Highland Garnett Payne was his fast 
friend, having succeeded to that post of 
credit since the death of his college chum, 
was of invaluable aid in arranging the de- 
tails of the eventful trip and its crown- 
ing purpose. Besides the charming sis- 
ter, mother and handy brother of the 
groom-elect a select party of Boston's 
upper tendom set, five whites included 
among them, were 'snugly berthed in the 
elegantly furnished and swell private 
coach labelled "Lux" one of the latest and 
richest outputs of the Pullman shops. As 



43 



Key To The Problem 

the train rolled lazily out of the Union 
Depot the conservative onlookers that 
thronged the platform "rubbered" and 
stared in astonishment at the dazzling, 
breath-taking spectacle, while the uncon- 
ventional group of newsboys silenced the 
puffing noise of the retreating engine 
with repeated peals of lusty cheer's. 

"Gee whiz ! ain't she a beaute," shouted 
a vociferous fledgling of the gang. 

"Must be the Prince of India wid his 
travelling train," echoed another. 

"Ah, snuff yer gas pipes. Shut up yer 
hot-air brake. Don't cher know the rich 
old guy w^ot's big kid got killed by the 
horse wot throwed him from de fright of 
de red devil dat's suddenly turned de cor- 
ner. De Harvard College guy, I mean." 

A chorus of agreement followed and 
the leader of the newsboys' brigade con- 
tinued. * 

"De feller''s dad is de one wot owns de 
fine rig, 'cause I've seen him take folks in 
it wid me own lookers many a time. 
Don't cher guys mind the name yer seed 
on the rig." 



44 



A Sable City 

The interest in the incident having ter- 
minated as the magnificent carrier faded 
out of sight, the merry news venders 
made the morning air echo with shouts 
of: 

"Globe and Herald, Colored American, 
Transcript, Advertiser. New York and 
Providence papers. One cent. All about 
the fire at Tremont Temple." 

From Boston to New York the jour- 
ney was marked by no particular inter- 
est, save the merry pastime of the happy- 
hearted party. A delay of ten minutes 
at Hartford Junction, due to the tardi- 
ness of the Boston Limited, was well 
spent in a wholesome after-lunch- 
eon exercise. The well-appointed car had 
every convenience necessary to comfort 
and a button had only to be touched to 
secure the attention needed. The com- 
missary department was stocked with 
edibles and beverages, liquors excepted, 
more than equal to the demand of a three 
days' itinerary and suitable to the vagar- 
ies of the most fastidious appetite. The 
cooks, porters and waiters knew their 

45 



Key To The Problem 

business and everything worked in apple- 
pie order until the dividing line between 
the upper and lower geographical region 
was reached on the journey Southward 
just beyond the nation's capital. From 
the restful sleep of the previous night the 
party awoke refreshed. The greater part 
occupied seats in the observation car and 
took in scenes of the Southern landscapes 
and way'side objects while waiting for 
breakfast, while a few found greater 
pleasure in occupying seats at writing- 
desks preparing letters for friends left be- 
hind. Lewis, with Payne and Arthur 
Garrison, one of the white guests, and 
brother of Miss Montgomery's classmate, 
who was one of the wedding party, paced 
the platform outside as the train tarried 
at the next 'station for v/ater and a fresh 
supply of fuel. As the trio thus occupied 
themselves they soon attracted the gaze 
of curious hangers-on, whites and col- 
ored, who were still slaves of the habit of 
greeting passing trains as generations of 
their ancestors did. The sight of the 
jnagnificent coach, its mixed outfit of 



46 



A Sable City 

fine looking passengers, visible through 
the uplifted curtains and windows from 
the outside, together with the easy famil- 
iarity of the motley party referred to, so 
non-plussed the self-appointed delegation 
of "Cracker" whites and sable loungers 
that they seemed lost for expression for the 
moment. While the blacks grinned and 
the "Crackers" scowled as if awe-stricken 
at the spectacle of "social ecjuality," the 
car party inside ecjually at a loss to ac- 
count for what greeted their visions in 
the land through which they were but 
transient passengers. 

A number of colored gamins formed a 
part of the early delegation that serenad- 
ed the southbound train and furnished en- 
tertainment to a number of drummers in 
a novel, heartless way. The local whites 
lined up together leaving elbow room for 
the idle blacks to enjoy the sport. At in- 
tervals a penny would be tossed in the 
air so as to fall in a water puddle near the 
railway track and the lucky scrambler 
who could get it would be cheered by the 
onlookers. The blacks indicated pleasure 



47 



Key To The Problem 

at the sport only with broad grins, shrug- 
ging their shoulders and hoJding their 
sides for fear of offending the superior 
loafers with a seeming violation of the 
traditions of "'social equality." The party 
from the windows of the handsome spec- 
ial did not relish the barbarous entertain- 
ment as the others, for they immediately 
drew down the curtains. This act, 
coupled with expressions of protest from 
the Boston trio, drew the attention of the 
crowd to the representatives of an obnox- 
ious civilization and the shout of the 
stern-voiced conductor, "All aboard!" 
was a relief to the situation uttered none 
too soon. After this incongruous episode 
nothing occurred to cross-grain the har- 
mony of the trip until Atlanta was 
reached next morning and the special was 
side-tracked two hours to make connec- 
tion with the southwestern fiyer due at 
noon. 



48 



A Sable City 



CHAPTER VIII. 

NEARING THE GOAL. 

The gorgeous special was switched at 
the Yazoo Junction next morning early 
and taken in charge by the colored con- 
ductor operating between that point and 
the renowned Negro city fifty miles 
away. Three other special coaches await- 
ed the early schedule. A delegation of 
relatives and friends supplemented by 
committees on behalf of the citizens and 
the great Centennial Fair gave cordial 
welcome to the Eastern visitors and for- 
eign guests. Wonderment and gratifica- 
tion were expressed on every side. The 
saible official outfit that manned the train 
from fireman to conductor seemed elated 
over the Jubilee event and its bountiful 
outcome in its first installment. The 
news of the special car and its inmates 
had been flashed ahead and it was easy to 
distinguish its occupants from the Pull- 



49 



Key To The Problem 

man passengers, although they were alike 
distinguished for commanding appear- 
ance.. The conductor, a portly, genial- 
looking, brown-skinned official, as he 
opened the staterooms and entered the ob- 
servation car end of the "Lux" coach to 
collect tickets from the pas'sengers, could 
not suppress the pride, delight and amaze- 
ment that struggled for mastery in his 
thoughts and feelings. Though evidently 
carried awa}- by the bewitching magnifi- 
cence of the special carrier, he was more 
deeply impressed with the rich and cul- 
tured company aboard, but especially 
with the imposing figure of Douglass 
Hayden Lewis, its mo'st conspicuous 
member. As he stood punching the 
tickets handed by the future bridegroom 
he could not restrain the impulse to greet 
the Eastern visitor with a nod 
of admissible recognition and asked 
pardon if he was mistaken in 
taking him for the hero of the matri- 
monial event of the succeeding evening. 
The blushing benedict-to-be handed the 
conductor his card with a modest bow, 



50 



A Sable City 

which the official compensated with one 
of his own and a copy of the Mound City 
Morning News, which contained an elab- 
orate program of the great city 'silver 
event and the International Jubilee, to- 
gether with a well written notice of the 
wedding and the dazzling personnel of 
the affair. The train made but a single 
stop before reaching its final destination. 
As it thundered along it was diffiicult to 
differentiate or identify passing objects 
by the wayside, but the towering impos- 
ing forms of the huge Fair buildings 
loomed up with increasing size and 
grandeur, until the big spurting locomo- 
tive was brought to a standstill within a 
>:tone's throw of the main entrance lead- 
ing to the entrancing and extensive ex- 
position grounds. Thrift, enterprise and 
business teemed on every side, greeting 
the eyes and ringing in the ears of the pas- 
sengers as they emerged from the train 
through the station into the streets of the 
record-eclipsing new Afro-American city. 
Hotel agents teeming in great numbers 
and drivers of hacks, 'buses and automo- 

51 



Key To The Problem 

biles and other vehicles plied their genius 
seductively as far as city ordinances 
would permit in capturing new-comers 
from the incoming trains. The Boston 
guests were spared this boring gamut, 
for the special advance committee had 
taken them in charge at the junction as 
already stated. Mayor Montgomery's 
handsome auto wagon was in waiting at 
the 'side entrance to the station and the 
best girl of his daughter, the bride-elect's 
college chum and three of the white pas- 
sengers from the Hub, were hurriedly 
wheeled to the mammoth mansion of the 
venerable City Father. Douglass and the 
other associate guests were conducted to 
elegant suites of rooms at the L'Overture 
Hotel, the leading hostelry of the place. 
In the afternoon an automobile drive was 
enjoyed by all save the man whose 
thoughts and interest centered in a mat- 
ter of greater and graver moment. Others 
might regale themselves with sight-see- 
ing and taking in the novel revelations of 
the unique community, but it was up to 
Douglass to face the music and keep time 



52 



J 



A Sable City 

with the fitness of other things. He was 
a helpless prisoner of Cupid, and a sight 
of the human cause of his heart's undoing 
he longed and eagerly yearned to see that 
afternoon ere the noose of Hymen closed 
around his neck. 

The golden Jubilee of Mound City fol- 
lowed close upon the heels of the Lewis- 
Montgomery matrimonial event. As 
might be expected the latter was a most 
elaborate and surpassing affair of its 
kind. To describe its details is to add 
nothing of value to the narrative, hence 
we take leave of the shadow and give the 
substance in order to gratify the curiosity 
and yield instruction to the reader. The 
ceremony was performed at the People's 
Temple in the presence of a shining as- 
semblage of guests and spectators. The 
interior of the building usually impressive 
to the beholder for its simple beauty was 
decorated for the occasion and expres'sed 
a solemn grandeur that was heightened 
by the rich and deep-toned wedding 
march evoked from the pipe organ at 
which a queenly graduate of the Boston 

53 



Key To The Problem 

Conservatory of Music presided. 

The Bishop of the district assisted by 
the pastors of the contracting' parties 
united the paii at the altar. The rites 
performed, the gorgeously decorated par- 
lors of the Montgomery mansion became 
the 'subsequent scene of the brilliant wed- 
ding. Congratulations, festivities and 
music poured their choicest incense at the 
feet of the lovely pair. Crowns of bene- 
diction were woven from the kisses and 
good cheers of the friends and early 
mates of the bride and placed by tender 
hands upon the brows of the jubilant 
couple. The cup of happiness flowed in 
unstinted fulness that merry wedding 
evening, but the inspiration was not from 
wine nor bacchanalian liquid in any form. 
This could not be, for Mound City was a 
strictly temperance, yea prohibition town, 
and the man its most distinguished ruler, 
whose daug-hter with her fullest consent 
and pleasure, was turned over to the 
graces and affections of another man. It 
was not difficult to identify the happiest 
quartette among the hymenial throng. 



54 



A Sable City 

The ex-Mayor, his wife, who was the 
step-mother of his newly-married daugh- 
ter, the latter and her noble husband eas- 
ily betrayed the fact that of all the as- 
semliled host they were the most favored 
and interested ones. Narrowing the 
group to a more limited circle, Eunice and 
Douglass bore away the sceptre, as they 
were the sovereigns of the realm that 
night, their relatives and admiring 
guests only reflecting their emitted 
radiance. 



55 



Key To The Problem 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE city's golden EVENT. 

The magnificent wedding event being 
over, the next immediate afifair of com- 
manding interest was the contents of the 
city's Jubilee program. The benedict and 
his lovely bride were in splendid trim to 
appreciate the wealth of wonder con- 
nected with this event and the grand Cen- 
tennial World's Fair. While the appear- 
ance of the latter in public during the 
week was forbidden by the convention- 
alities of good taste and custom, such 
technicalities did not apply to her hus- 
band and the rest of the circle of friends. 
The royal wedding breakfast, the bracing 
air and the golden June morning laden 
with the beauty of the town's anniversary 
dress and the intoxicating fragrance were 
sufficient stimulants for the enjoyment of 
every one. With Douglas's Lewis there 



56 



A Sable City 

was an additional stimulus in the piece 
of paper placed as a surprise under his 
wife's plate by her father before break- 
fast. It was a check for one round mil- 
lion dollars, a gift without any conditions 
f 1 om the donor. This unexpected largesse 
furnished additional relish for the future 
in the benedict's thoughts, as he was 
thereby more fully prepared to enter upon 
the order of the day as arranged by the 
city's executive committee on entertain- 
ment to the eminent visiting guests. 

A royal outfit of carriages and auto- 
mobiles was announced in waiting at the 
side entrance of the Mayor's mansion. 
The father, son and two ladies of the Bos- 
ton party took seats in the self-propelling 
machine while others occupied the open 
carriages. It was two hours before the 
pageantry would move according to the 
elaborate program arranged for the oc- 
casion. There was ample time for the 
party to make a rapid tour of the city, 
taking in its principal points of interest 
and be in their seats at the grand review 
stand by eleven of the towering town 



57 



Key To The Problem 

I 

clock, whose clanging tongue and massive 
hands told the successive hours, whether 
near or far, by day or night. 

The party rode leisurely to the city 
square, where beautiful fountains spurted 
their silvery sprays across variegated 
erass lawns. In the trees and stunted 
shrubbery birds flitted and squirrels 
sported as if they too were animated by 
the spirit of the Jubilee week. What 
nature did not furnish to enrich the cen- 
tral park was amply supplied in sweet 
music furnished by the park band and in 
the teeming works of art. "Old Glory," 
buntings, garlands of roses, festoons of 
flowers floating from trees or streaming 
from temporary scaffoldings furnished a 
magnificent spectacle. Only a few mo- 
ments were spent in scanning the impos- 
ing picture. 

The beholders thought the spectacle 
cjuite as rich and fascinating as that fur- 
nished by the public gardens of Boston 
and in some respects superior. It was ar- 
ranged that the most convenient of the 
public circles be taken in and a drive 



58 



A Sable City 

through Liberia Avenue with a bird's- 
eye-view of the business section of the 
city, which would exhaust the margin of 
time left before the displays of the day 
began. The broad asphalt-covered streets 
of the residence section and the three- 
rowed shade trees on Liberia Avenue, the 
city's leading thoroug-hfare, did not fail 
to afford life-material for the pen, ko- 
daks and brushes of the Eastern sight- 
seers. The pictures of thrift, push, enter- 
prise and progress of the infant race and 
people were eye-openers as they met their 
gaze on every hand. That the beholders 
should become inspired as they took in 
the endless wonders of architecture, taste, 
genius and wealth reflected from public 
buildings, private dwellings, beautiful 
streets and parks and monuments goes 
without the statement. The colored visi- 
tors were lost for utterances in the face of 
the towering object les'sons of their peo- 
ple's progress. Their white companions 
shared the emotion kindled by the pic- 
tures outlined. They were children of 
the East and were descendents of aboli- 



59 



Key To The Problem 

tionist stock. Their ancestors were full- 
orbed and broad-guaged touching the 
dogmas of Negro equality and human 
brotherhood and the children wore their 
mantle with natural ease and dignity. 

The sight-seeing drive which embraced 
the suburbs with its humbler race popu- 
lation served as a sort of spiritual and 
mental appetizer for the revelations to 
greet the city's guests from the command- 
ing station of the grand stand. The party 
reached headquarters a few minutes in 
advance of the scheduled time and were 
given right of way by an advanced guard 
of police whose massive forms sufficed to 
move and menace the throng that blocked 
the entrance and to the review 'stand and 
made standing room almost impossible 
for miles along the lines of the proces- 
sion. 

The pageantry was picturesque, stir- 
ring and bordering on the spectacular. 
As section after section of mounted 
guards, uniformed officials, civilians, 
professional's, mechanics, business men, 
and common and skilled laborers filed by 



60 



A Sable City 

the grand stand cheers rose in volleys 
from the throats of the onlookers, while 
waving of kerchiefs and clapping of 
hands expressed the emotions of the bet- 
ter favored occupants of reserved seats. 

The personnel of the turnout evoked 
the loudest demonstrations. The unin- 
itiated might be tempted to surmise that 
the color line was drawn, as black horses 
bearing princely riders or drawing mag- 
nificent vehicles loomed up in panoramic 
review. The selection of dark colored 
steeds and the predominance of swarthy 
colors as far as was consistent and feas- 
ible was meant simply to emphasize and 
capitalize the pre-eminence of this ele- 
ment in the development and success of a 
stupendous race idea, the success of 
which had passed the stage of experi- 
ment. 

It took six hours for the resplendent 
parade to pass a given point. There was 
nothing in the fifty years' life of the city 
that it did not illustrate in floats, tableaux 
and pyrotechnical displays during the day 
or night for the period of a week. The 

61 



Key To The Problem 

displays would have been more costly 
and extensive in scope had it not been 
understood that it was in no wise to han- 
dicap the overmastering event of the Cen- 
tennial Race Fair, to which the City 
Jubilee was but a modest pointer. The 
local celebration reached its finality on 
Friday, when a barbeque dinner, speech- 
makmg and outdoor exhibition of sports 
wa's tendered the populace and a grand 
banquet to the distinguished guests. At 
the banquet various toasts were re- 
sponded to, but none were characterized 
by greater brilliancy and eloquence or met 
with larger appreciation than the speeches 
of Mr. Lewis and the Rev. Dr. Garrison 
of Boston, 



62 



A Sable City 



CHAPTER X. 
A century's offering. 

The magnitude, contents and magnifi- 
cence of the First Negro World's Exposi- 
tion and Centennial Jubilee must require 
the widest stretch of the imagination to 
even faintly appreciate that record-beat- 
ing event. A 'slight idea of the scope and 
extent of the display can be gleaned from 
the fact that its site embraced about two 
thousand acres with twenty gigantic 
structures whose architectural design per- 
sonified the picturesque and beautiful. 
The contour of the site was marked by 
five irregularly located and gently slop- 
ping elevations, relics of the mound build- 
ing epoch, similar in shape and magnitude 
to the four which outlined the rectangu- 
lar outskirts of the city. When entering 
the grounds from the northern corner 
contiguoiis to the city, the eyes of the 

63 



Key To The Problem 

visitor falls upon an imposing boulevard 
whose gradual upward winding ends in 
a rounded eminence at the center of the 
grounds. Facing the grand boulevard 
and entrance is the Administration Build- 
ing-, a veritable architectural wonder. 

A main picture of central location is 
the cataract garden. Its slope from the 
commanding locality occupied is enliv- 
ened by five great cascades and numerous 
terraces which give life and poetry to the 
picture. A huge basin rests at the base 
of the cascades, forming a part of the 
lagoon system. But details must not be 
attempted as casual descriptions of out- 
lines will suffice. 

Palaces of Religion, of Art, of Educa- 
tion, of Liberal Arts, of Manufacture, of 
Machinery, of Electricity, of Transporta- 
tion, of Agriculture, of Horticulture, of 
Mines and Metallury, of Forestry, of So- 
cial Economy, of Live Stock, of Interna- 
tional Congress, of Anthropology dotted 
the grounds on every side. Six allied 
and sympathetic countries having Negro 
or dark-skinned population in response to 

64 



A Sable City 

invitations tendered had buildings in 
keeping with their rank as nations, both 
as to outward appearance and inner ex- 
hibits. The picture of the aggregated 
buildings, palaces and museums presented 
an imposing spectacle to w;hich a richness 
was added to the uniform color of the 
brown and saffron-like granite which 
constituted their material. With two ex- 
ceptions the Haitian Palace was built 
from the mahogany and granite taken 
from native soil. The African Museum 
was constructed from ebony, ivory and 
marble taken from its soil, woods and ele- 
phants, and trimmed artistically and with 
rich effects with minerals from her fer- 
tile mines. 

The Exposition was a marvel of won- 
der and magnificence to all who beheld 
its splendors of whatever land or clime. 
Its material, mental and ethical side alike 
reflected the capacity of the descendants 
of the Dark Continent for such services 
as Heaven has ordained for the embel- 
lishment of earth and the betterment of 

each and all the varied branches of human 
kind. 

65 



Key To The Problem 

During the twelve months of its hold- 
ings the gates of the great Fair gave wel- 
come to representatives of every national- 
ity under the sun. Every giadation of 
sunburnt humanity was there from the 
Fetische idolators to princes and poten- 
tates of Africa to presidents and dignitar- 
ies of other lands. 

As to the outcome of the mammoth en- 
terprise it might be classed as in every 
sense successful. Financially it rewarded 
its stockholders handsomely and justified 
the fabulous sums involved by ample re- 

turns. 

LOfC. 



FINIS. 



nr> 



LEAg'l2 



